kgorman

Ok, now that I read that back, Topp saved me, so that's not really self supporting is it. Lol, ok, that irony isn't lost on me.

smf32s

Even the best self supporters have to reach out for help sometimes. No harm in that. When I've been alone I've had many east coast shops go out of their way to be incredibly nice and help me out. That's what makes this community so fantastic.

Stu

Bill Farrell

Dan Jacobs has saved me MANY times (part supply, advice, fueling). I agree with Stu - we are so fortunate to have great Shops with Awesome Owners !

ir_fuel

Never used any of those to change wheels. Lift car with airjacks, and change one wheel at the time. I never leave the car in the air for extended periods of time on the jacks with wheels removed.

Jerrygreene

Found that after 12 race weekends, ( some times in one year, two or even 3 years for me sometimes) Axels are replaced, (we pull the blacks apart) and they are worn. Then also the W/B need to be replaced. Generally they don't look good when they come out. Its no fun doing either at the track..

Viperbob1

There are a great bunch of guys at the track that are always willing to help. You just have to ask if you need something. I have been on both ends of needing something, and able to offer parts to get guys back running. All good....

chrcook

When I lost an axle, it broke on the part which goes through the upright / bearing, just inside the wheel mounting stub axle. Result was the rear wheel coming off which did about $10,000+ in damage. Apparently 3-wheeled cup cars are not the optimal design. For some reason now, axles scare me.....

tcsracing1

I love the idea of self supporting a Porsche factory built race car, and i have seen it done.

Reminds me of when I used to self support my D.E car.
I used to work like a dog onloading and off loading the trailer.
Tire changes. Brake changes. Refueling etc.

I can imagine a Cup being a larger work load.

Running a race car now, I cant imagine trying to self support it between all the trucking, trailering, wrenching, refueling, drivers meetings, pit stops, driving etc.
For D.E perhaps.

My hats off to those that do.

ir_fuel

Had the same experience. It wasn't even my 996 Cup car when it happened. Luckily not that much damage.

ir_fuel

IMHO, doing this while racing is just crazy. In our team we make sure the driver only has 1 thing to think about: race the car. All the rest should be taken care of by other people. You can't be 100% focused if you are thinking about stuff like "did I check the oil level before getting the car on the grid? Are the brake pads still good enough?" etc etc.

Glen

Many times this can occur when the upright area that holds the bearing begins to fatigue. Its difficult to find because when cool it tightens up only showing up when heat soak occurs. Most breaks near outer cv/axle stub can be traced to needing new upright.

dwe8922

I self support my 996 cup since I bought it in 2009, and go with 4 or 5 other friends who self support their spb's, 944 spec. I think the 944 guys work on their cars at the track more than I work on mine (at the track). I do prep it well to avoid any issues I can, and I truly enjoy working on the car. I think if you're mechanically inclined and enjoy doing it, you can self support just fine.

I certainly wouldn't discount the value of a good shop supporting your car, though. These are complex, setup critical cars that really do benefit from careful attention and fettling; an area where any self supporter may fall short due to lack of time. Also, I have been lucky to have good shops behind me for the things I can't do or figure out, like Autometrics, Zotz, and CPT.

CRex

It's one thing to be intimately familiar with your racecar but it's a different thing to do everything yourself.

There's a definite limit to your time at each event. At any given point you can only do so much as driver, engineer or mechanic. I didn't have a proper mechanic in my early days and each time i tested the cup I was distracted with temps, pressures, heat cycles, warning lights and what not. It got to a point where I could clearly tell my problem: I could not, and should not be engineer mechanic AND driver at the same time.

If budget allows, I would strongly recommend sharing the resources of a crew with your buddies. It allows you to focus on driving and learning

tkerrmd

if I didnt have shop support probably would have missed 25% of race time for various reasons cant say enough about shop support. Autometrics or Zotz are great

cwcsvt

Thanks for all the info guys. I am in search of car at the moment. Had a GT4 track prepped, but seller has now backed out of deal. Looking for a great car, if possible on the west coast. Have some track time under my belt and would love to get some more starting next month. Ideally I am entering some races by the summer. If anyone knows of some cars for sale, I would be interested. Please message me and I can respond. Back to reading this entire thread. Have a great weekend!